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Rerouting: 60-Card True Metalfoe Kozmos

I hardly touched Kozmos when the deck was at the peak of its run, because despite the sheer number of Special Summons it made per turn, it was surprisingly linear. When the first four cards for the theme were released, the entire strategy revolved around Kozmo Farmgirl - you'd either clear the way for a direct attack, or boost the little Level 3 to a high ATK and smack over your opponent's monsters.

Every time new cards came out, Kozmos adapted with a strategy that was seemingly only Kozmo in name. Fire King Kozmos and Demise Kozmos were polar opposites of the same deck. Zach Buckley wrote about Kozmo Karakuri, and I've even seen some Light-flavored Kozmo decks with Galaxy Soldier and Panzer Dragon that go all out to make Cyber Infinity Dragon.

With the history of Kozmo variants in mind, a long-time reader from Cuba writes…

The Extra Deck is standard for Metalfoes Fusions and the Cyber Dragon Xyz combos, and I don't want to bother you more. The deck is good against the Zoodiac matchups since the Kozmo spaceships can't be targeted by Zoodiant Drident, and I like what I'm seeing for the upcoming format with Link Summons.

I'll always love the interaction between Kozmotown and Kozmos. You can play a minimal monster lineup, search them with your Field Spell, and bam - self-replacement at its finest. I wanted to add the Metalfoes for speed and consistency, and I've always loved the archetype as a whole. You can tell it's a mash-up of two of my favorites. The Fire Kings are a matter of economy… I can't afford Dragonic Diagram and Master Peace, the True Dracoslaying King.

The deck's a bit different than your typical Fire King Kozmos build since Jorge made the addition of Metalfoes, but it's certainly no less powerful. In addition to your Kozmo front, you'll also have powerful fusions like Metalfoes Mithrillium at your fingertips.
Can't Take The Heat? Get Out!
I'll be frank upfront – as strategy that's purely a “Fire King Kozmo Metalfoe” deck, I don't have many suggestions or helpful observations save for the exclusion of Twin Twisters, but more on that later. Yes, I'd add Kozmo Delta Shuttle and Kozmo Soartroopers for the best Kozmo combos, but this column isn't called “Rerouting” for nothing. I know I'm going to dig into some expensive cards this week, but sometimes that's just what it takes.

Right away you see Jorge's concentration on Field Spells and the cards that can get him to them consistently. Both TerraformingandSet Rotation are vital to fetch Fire King Island; Set Rotation's been a truly underrated card here in the TCG. With multiple Field Spells in your deck, you're basically playing another three copies of Terraforming while also blocking your opponent's Field Spells. Yes, Set Rotation isn't exactly like Terraforming since it can restrict your own Field Spell onslaught, but it's fine for the “last” Field Spell you'll play.

All "True Draco" and "True King" monsters on the field gain 300 ATK and DEF. The first time each Tribute Summoned "True Draco" or "True King" monster would be destroyed by battle each turn, it is not destroyed. Once per turn: You can destroy 1 other card you control or in your hand, and if you do, add 1 "True Draco" or "True King" card from your Deck to your hand.

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In fact, Set Rotation made me immediately think of Dragonic Diagram. As a follow-up, the Quick-Play spell can lock both players out of Field Spells, but wouldn't you like to expand your options with a different “final” Field Spell? Fire King Island's virtually blank after its first use, and Dragonic Diagram's another way to pop your cards and of course search out another boss monster - Master Peace, the True Dracoslaing King.

I know, it seems a bit unconventional to add another layer to a deck that's already a hybrid, but Master Peace is the perfect icing on Jorge's cake.

Not only does a True Draco engine fill in some gaps you create when you're aggressively searching your Field Spells and add another monster to lock down your opponent, but it inadvertently makes good on your leftover monsters that are played largely as combo pieces. Whether you throw down a Leviair the Sea Dragon to extend your plays or you refresh your hand with Herald of Pure Light, you'll probably have an extra monster just sitting around with very little ATK. Once you get an extra Normal Summon from True Draco Heritage, you can finish your turn with several threats and extend the handshake.

55 Is The New 40
For better or worse, Yu-Gi-Oh! Isn't limited to 40 card decks anymore. As long as your deck runs smoothly, you can rationalize any number these days. With such a concentration on the combos we've discussed, it's obvious that you'll need two Field Spells and a Kozmo machine… while also having a Fire King Avatar Garunix and Kozmo Delta Shuttle in deck. As long as those quotas are met, you're good to go. And while having some Metalfoes is nice, the deck by no means requires all fifteen - even when you're adding in a bunch of other cards and taking the deck north of 40.

I don't have too many edits for this strategy, especially since most of the fixes are done by way of adding in more cards like the True Draco support, without making extra space to keep the deck at 40 cards. But with Kozmo Sliprider and True Draco Heritage, Twin Twisters seems a bit superfluous. There are plenty of ways to naturally pop Spells and Traps, and half the time you'll want to destroy your own anyways. And when I say “your own,” I do mean to include “whatever Field Spell you gave your opponent.”

During your Main Phase: You can draw cards equal to the number of "True Draco" and "True King" card types (Monster, Spell, and Trap) sent from the field to the Graveyard this turn. During your Main Phase, you can: Immediately after this effect resolves, Tribute Summon 1 "True Draco" or "True King" monster face-up. If this card is sent from the Spell & Trap Zone to the Graveyard: You can target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy it. You can only use each effect of "True Draco Heritage" once per turn.

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The deck definitely plays differently than other Kozmo builds, but keep in mind it's a different strategy altogether and it's only loosely connected to the Kozmo decks of old. I didn't even bother running a Kozmo Farmgirl because I can't even tell you the last time I ever triggered her effect to search. With only one Emergency Teleport, a single Kozmo Tincan will serve your far better, especially when you'd have to make the choice between Tincan and Farmgirl on an opening turn. Neither helps you with any combos, but one is clearly the better choice when you don't have anything else going on.

I know the finished product here is a bit on the expensive side, but hey, so is living. My mom always used to say “Despite the high cost of living, it tends to be relatively popular,” and I never fully understood that saying until I started playing Yu-Gi-Oh.

I'm not sure what I'm going to play at the World Championship Qualifier, but who knows! I may be feeling Kozmos or something similar. Lastly, a quick reminder to anyone who wants to send in their deck for a Rerouting: calling an Extra Deck “standard” is hardly a complete list. What may be good for one Extra Deck is certainly not good for another, so I took a lot of liberties in creating the Extra Deck this week.

Just remember, beat your opponents before they beat you!

-Loukas Peterson

Loukas Peterson lives in Nashville, TN where warm weather has finally come! When he's not playing cards or crying about the lack of Fabled support, you can find him on his kayak reading a book and playing the ukulele or at his painting desk, probably on his 30th cup of coffee for the day. Hailed on the only one capable of cooking Minute Rice is 57 seconds, Loukas is always looking for another creative outlet and a dog to pet.

Do you love winning with unconventional strategies? Do you love creating mash-ups? Does your deck need an injection of crazy? Send the following to rerouting.tcgplayer@gmail.comto have your deck featured in the “Re-Routing” deck fix column!

-Your Main and Extra Deck list. (No Side Deck needed, but please send a written deck list, not a screencap; screencapped deck lists will be filed and then burned in the furnace accordingly… and your deck should be TCG legal).

-Your name and city.

-Remember, please use full card names! Abbrevs and mis-sipllngs make Loukas' life sad. Try your darndest to get the TCG name on there.

-A paragraph or two describing your deck: what it does, why you're playing it, and its strengths and weaknesses. “Winning” is not a strategy per se, and neither is “beating your opponents before they beat you.”

-Your favorite card from the build and why – make me fall in love with the deck! The cooler your strategy the more I'll want to fix it, and if you throw in funny jokes, that'll surely get my attention too; be warned, unfunny jokes will push your deck to the back of the stack. Don't be afraid to get creative! New stuff takes priority, because I'm not bored of it yet! –LJP

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